Sunday, 15 June 2014

Following that rough time thanks to the loss of some of Kaori's memories again since Kujo's appearance, things have settled down and returned to their normal routine for Kaori and Hase, even if Saki is still stuck in a rut regarding her relationship with Shogo after recent events.

There is still something gnawing away at both Fujimiya and Hase surrounding the former's unexpected meeting with Kujo at the crepe shop, although even this is sidelined by Saki's friends uniting around her in an attempt to resolve her own current issues. It's thanks to this that Hase finds himself with an opportunity to talk to Kujo himself to verify exactly what happened on that day, and although he doesn't seem too sure himself he knows just the right people to fill in the gaps.

Decamping to a nearby family restaurant, Kujo explains his elementary school relationship with Fujimiya to Hase, and when some of his friends from that time arrive they can indeed fill in the blanks - that Kujo arranged to meet Kaori alone before he moved away, which in turn caused tension with some of their mutual friends who bullied and shunned Kaori as a result, leading to her running off and ultimately becoming involved in an accident. In the worst piece of bad timing imaginable, this explanation occurs just as Kaori enters the exact same restaurant, leaving her in tears before she leaves with her friends. Surprisingly, Fujimiya herself recovers from this trauma surprisingly easily (at least outwardly), while it's Hase who seems hell-bent upon beating himself up about the whole thing and distancing himself from Fujimiya as a result.

It would take a lot to dampen my overall enthusiasm for One Week Friends at this point, although I have to admit to being completed baffled by Hase's actions at the end of this week's episode - there's no real logic to them, and even in his current emotional state his actions go against his previously persistent character to the point where they feel manufactured for the sake of bringing some drama to the series. I suppose I can let it slide if everything is resolved and given an enjoyable ending next week, so it isn't exactly a black mark against the series, but it is perhaps the most contrived fare that it's delivered so far.